My Canadian Thanksgiving Day was spent trying traditional Roman food in the Testaccio

The Testaccio district was a working class area but now known for traditional Roman food, its market and the former slaughterhouse. It is not near the centro storico (historic centre) so I have not ventured there on earlier visits to Rome.

I signed up for a tour of Testaccio before Scott had to cancel but since it was not charged per person, I decided I might as well go on my own.

The weather looked promising so I walked.

Google maps said it would take 40 minutes but that never takes into account waiting for traffic or stopping to take photos.

The ongoing metro work around Piazza Venezia, Rome’s main square.

Teatro Marcellus

View towards Santa Maria in Cosmedin and the Bocca della Verità

No idea what this is. Google Photos says it is the National Etruscan Museum. At best, this would be the backside of the musuem.

This is the fire station in the Testaccio district. It took me an hour to get here at a leisurely pace.

Piazza Testaccio with the Fontana delle Anfore. Anfore are amphorae, the clay jugs which the ancient Romans used as containers for liquids. The anfore now are used as a symbol of the area.

As the Testaccio area was a warehouse area, amphorae were brought up the Tiber river and stored before being delivered elsewhere. Olive oil was transported in great amounts as it was used not only for food but also as fuel to light lamps. The empty amphorae were not reuseable because the oil had soaked into the terra cotta. They were Ancient Rome’s single use container. The anfore were just broken up and stacked in a mound that eventually became a large hill which can be seen in the background below. The name “Testaccio” refers to this hill.

The fragments of the clay jugs were laid systematically and sprinkled with lime to reduce the smell of the rancid olive oil. The combination created a kind of concrete which was why the discarded containers became such a large hill.

Testaccio’s old market which was in the Piazza has been replaced with a new more permanent structure. In creating the new market, old Roman remains were uncovered. They included a lot of broken bits of amphorae.

The new modern structure of the market has also allowed for the selling of more prepared food and not just food products to take home to cook.

I sampled some pizza, which I forgot to photograph and also some Trippa Romana, basically a stew made with tripe. It was like a vegetable stew but with the chewy tripe—not offal tasting.

A lot of the residents of the area worked at the slaughterhouse and were paid in part by the “off cuts” of meat ie the offal, ie the brains, stomach, kidney, liver, intestines, heart, which the Italians call “quinto quarto” the fifth quarter. Dishes were created to make these tasty. They almost all involve slow cooking with added vegetables and herbs and/or spices.

The old slaughterhouse is being revitalized and starting to be used for a variety of activities from an architecture school, art space, event venue. The building looks much fancier than any slaughterhouse I have seen.

But the slaughterhouse workings remain as a reminder of its history.

Much of the housing in the area was built at the beginning of the 20th century and intended for the working class. They are rather plain, no balconies but usually with a shared inner courtyard that provided outdoor space.

Some of the housing built during the Fascist era have similar design elements but with what looks to me like a confused style of exterior decoration.

One of the successful business in the area has put a modern twist on traditional Roman food. Trapizzino is a street food vendor that started at the market shaping pizzas into triangular cones and filling it with traditional street food. The business is so successful, it now has stand alone shops in various Rome locations.

I tried a Zinghini, stewed beef with an Ethiopian spice, a mash up resulting from Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia. It was delicious. The crunchy pizza crust was filled with a spicy beef stew that was reminicent of Mexican mole.

My guide Maurizio is also a sommelier and suggested a glass of sparkling rosè made from Cesanese, a local red grape that doesn’t grow elsewhere in Italy. It went very well with the rich and strongly flavoured beef.

Remains of the upper level of an ancient warehouse.

Finished the tour at an artisanal gelato shop. The owners are Sicilian so the chocolate was Modica chocolate and I tried vegan nocciola which without milk or cream emphasized the nutty flavour. I was almost finished before I remembered to take a photo. The weather was warming up so the gelato started melting right away.

From the Testaccio district I crossed the river to Trastevere at the far end where I had not been before.

The church of San Francesco a Ripa.

Inside is Bernini’s Beata Ludovica Albertoni statue, usually called the Ecstasy of the Beata etc. as it is reminiscent of his Saint Teresa in Ecstasy statue. The Beata Ludovica was the last statue that he carved entirely himself. Later he was so busy he would use assistants.

By this point the weather was decidedly warm. My weather app said 24 but the sun was making for very sweaty walking so I did not stop for more photos.

My evening was spent watching a webinar about the Bayeux Tapestry and disgesting.